Retiring jersey numbers? Creating a Hall of Fame? Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder no longer is making football decisions, so he’s once more marketing the team’s history.
Frankly, it’s a good idea; the younger generation often wonders why Washingtonians are so gaga over this perennial bunch of sad sacks. You have to be approaching 30 years old to appreciate the Redskins’ last Super Bowl victory. The local football team no longer is the main draw for teenagers, who instead are becoming NFL fans through Madden video games and cable TV.
A Redskins Hall of Fame would be a leading attraction if it turns into more than a glorified team store. That would mean obtaining some rare memorabilia locked away in a handful of local collectors’ vaults. There are several Washingtonians with massive collections Snyder could buy or borrow. Get the 1937 football signed by the first championship team, Jack Kent Cooke’s fedora, seats from three stadiums and game programs since the Boston days.
These items and so much more are available (but please, let a historian put it together and not a marketing person). Snyder mentioned building a Hall of Fame near Ashburn — something the city where the team trains started discussing more than a year ago — but it really should be at FedEx Field, where thousands of fans can tour on game days. A second possibility would be in the District near other tourist attractions like the Spy Museum or the Old Post Office Pavilion.
Meanwhile, plenty of Redskins historians should be available to provide tours. There are great stories about Sammy Baugh and his two title teams after the team’s 1937 arrival from Boston and what Vince Lombardi meant to the franchise in 1969 before he passed away after one season. Sonny Jurgensen and Billy Kilmer are so fondly remembered from the 1970s, and Joe Gibbs and the 1980s ushered in a Golden Era for fans. Great guides turn a museum into a living memorial.
As for Snyder’s idea of retiring jersey numbers — it’s about time. Only Sammy Baugh’s No. 33 is retired. However, the Redskins unofficially don’t hand out the old numbers of Joe Theismann (7), Jurgensen (9), Darrell Green (28) Charley Taylor (42), John Riggins (44), Bobby Mitchell (49), Dave Butz (65) and Art Monk (81).
The numbers of Pro Football Hall of Famers should be retired, taking Butz and Theismann off that list. Russ Grimm’s No. 68 should be added after his Hall of Fame induction Saturday.
The Redskins are the region’s most popular sports attraction. It’s time to honor the team appropriately with more than marketing slogans.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and Twitter @Snide_Remarks or e-mail [email protected].
